Casseroles, chili, and meat pies, oh my!

Last night I hosted a potluck for a few of the great volunteers at Genesis. It was surely a celebration of good community and good food. I was delighted as more and more people showed up, some unexpected which made it even better. The food table grew and grew and we were forced to store the desserts in odd places, like on top of the fridge, in the bathtub, out on the sidewalk, and on people's laps (just kidding only on the fridge). Crock pots littered my tiny kitchen counters and the hot cider simmered on my mini-stove. It felt like a true Midwest potluck indeed. While living in LA my Midwest friends and I would attempt to replicate the Midwest potluck, but the air outside never seemed to get cool enough and the way too healthy dishes prepared never seem to cut it.

I've been learning lately how deeply important it is to genuinely thank volunteers. My hope is that the volunteers at Genesis always feel appreciated, loved, and noticed, so this potluck in a way was a very small effort of getting everyone together to remind them that I'm glad they're part of Genesis (even though I made them bring their own food). So if you're a Genesis volunteer and you're reading this- I appreciate, love, and notice you! Thank you for every bit of help you've given and continue to give- big and small.





Oh and by the way...my photo wall is up and running. I love turning the corner into my living room now to see this long awaited project complete.

There's Light enough to see

Yesterday one of my most favorite band of musicians in the whole wide world released their eighth album. I bought it today using a coupon I got in the mail and it only cost me $4! Who who who?!

The David Crowder Band.

I love them to pieces. Pieces! Again, my words fail me, but sometimes I feel so moved by their songs I just want to eat them. I think that I sincerely love and enjoy every single one of their songs. Of all the random music I love from bluegrass, techno, oldies, hymns, rock, jazz, gospel and so on, this band of musicians meets and exceeds all of my musical cravings. They are weird, they are insanely creative, they are funny, they are smart, they are richly talented, they love God. Ugh. I love what they make.

Since I can barely say what I mean...here are the words of one reviewer of their album that I say amen to:

Over the last four years, David Crowder Band has gone from a mere worship band to quite possibly the most innovative band operating within the established Christian music industry today.

The sound incorporates all the band elements—acoustic and electric guitars, bass, drums, programming, DJ turntables, and violin.... Just because the album is more straightforward, don't assume it comes without a theme. As you might guess from the title and the medical cross on the cover, Remedy focuses on God's constant presence as the answer to our hurts while challenging listeners to be the balm needed in the lives of others. Indeed, the Texas band's 2007 club tour is part worship experience, part rallying cry to inspire change in local communities.... At first glance, the words seem simplistic and at times repetitive—particularly "Rain Down" and "We Won't Be Quiet." Yet upon further listens, it becomes apparent that David Crowder Band establishes a tone through their music. In other words, this band goes beyond lyrics, framing them through context of a sound or a mood, and letting the music establish the lyrics; usually it's the other way around in Christian music... Recorded and self-produced at their barn in Waco, Texas, they remain one of the few bands in Christian music that is textured, nuanced, and dynamic enough to discover new elements with repeated listens. [This is me: YES, I totally agree with this the most- this always happens to me when I listen to them- secret layers revealed over time!!] Yet it never sounds too busy—more a matter of uncovering new layers with time... Most worship albums offer music as a praise response to glorify our Creator. Remedy is more an engaging pop/rock album designed to spark worship because of who our Creator is. When the music is this good, worship comes naturally.

They only had me as a deeper committed fan when I heard (months later of course) that they posted an invitation on their website to help them record an old Hank Williams song, "I Saw the Light", in their recording barn in Texas- complete with a cook out and everything. I was so very envious as I watched the video of other super fans enjoying their hoe-down experience on the farm recording that song that can be found on their last album, A Collision, which I also treasure.

I'm afraid that you won't get the full experience unless you hear the whole album...with that at risk, here are some free snip its of Remedy.

But as for me, I will always have hope...

Last November I was in the midst of reestablishing my life in a new, yet, old place. Southeast Michigan. Everything about the geography around me was deeply familiar. My roots are here. It's my first home. It's where I was born and raised and lived until after college.

But something was different (and still is).
It was me.
I was different (and still am).
I am older.
I have lived out of state, even out of country, and I have done my fair share of continent hopping.
Since leaving I have found my faith in Jesus Christ.
Lots of changes.

This place is a new place because of those formative experiences- each takes up a big chunk of space of my head and heart, but the later the most significantly.

I am seeing life through the eyes of God.
I'm seeing new/old places through His eyes.
I'm feeling some of what He feels for Detroit.
He aches for this city.
He cries for this city.
He blesses this city.
He loves this city.
I can't help but feel a small fraction of those things too. I do and I can't turn it off, nor do I want to. I believe I'm part of God's mission to heal Detroit; to heal the economy, to heal the racism, to heal the brokenness, but above all to heal the precious people.

Today it has become more clear to me that I have been in preparation to battle for Detroit. My heart was slowly being molded and shaped as I grew to love cities all around the world; Los Angeles, Taichung, Taipei, New York, Portland, Sydney, Chicago, and the list goes on.
Cities delight me.
The people who dwell in them intrigue me.
The need in them moves me.
I love to explore them and to celebrate their uniqueness and secret treasures.
Most most of all I love helping to redeem them.
I love being right in the action at Genesis, as we continue to meet in Detroit on Sunday evenings- proclaiming we believe God loves the city of Detroit and loves the people in it enormously.

When I first moved back I heard about Genesis moving its evening gathering to Detroit. My heart jumped at the notion and I had to know how I could be in the action. It's almost been a year and I'm only more passionate and more excited than ever about Detroit. I'm finding it difficult to articulate what I'm really feeling. I tried to explain to a few friends on the phone tonight, but found myself feeling frustrated as my true heart may not have been explained. Hopefully some of it sticks out here and in fact is contagious.

The other day I found this great photographer from the Detroit area. His photos of the people of Detroit make me so sad. They make me cry. Their 2-3 line stories only feed the ache. Check out The Snowsuit Effort and click "Next Image", but be sure to read their stories below each picture. I still have hope in Detroit.

It's too bad my apartment lease isn't up until next summer or I'd be down there already. In the mean time watch for the blue bandit zipping down 75 south...

Gooooooood Morning Giza!

Tonight I completed my goal of scanning selected photos from my life and my family for my super spectacular photo wall. Here's a few more previews. (Other previews can be seen in this post.)

Little old me and the Great Pyramids of Giza just outside of Cairo, Egypt

My dad in the Army...somewhere in Vietnam

Stay tuned for the real deal on my real wall. Just days until the unveiling. Please control your excitement.

Repeat after me, "bumblebee"

Yesterday I started a new little side job for some extra saving money. I am now officially an English Language Trainer (basically an ESL tutor). I'm getting paid the big bucks to teach English to a woman and her 17 year old daughter. They are from Venezuela and the mom is an engineer at Ford. She designs car bumpers- both front and rear.

Today I met with the mother for the second time. Both sessions so far have been really incredible for me. I'm learning about her as a person and about her strengths and weaknesses as an ESL student. In our lesson this evening we started with some writing and ended with some vocab/pronunciation practice. She's really concerned about writing emails at work and at home, so we wrote out two emails together. The first one was a simple reply to an invitation to a Sunday lunch and the second was an email inviting her friends and family to look at some photos from her trip to NYC on Ofoto. Then finally we read through a list of simple words with consonant sounds- to check on what sounds in particular give her trouble and to check her level of vocab. She seems to have a lot of trouble with 'th', 'v', and 'f'- they all end up being something else. We had the most trouble with emphasizing the difference between 'cup' and 'cop'. She learned a few new words in this process: cop was one of them, bunt, mitt, and bumblebee (which turns out is sort of a tongue twister for her).

I must say two things about this experience so far.

1. I dread planning for each hour long session. I get all worked up that it won't be good enough or it will be too easy for her. If you saw me at the Genesis office today you would have felt my irrational, insecure stress- in fact 2 different people asked me with a compassionate tilted head "How are you doing today?"- it must have shown in my face and my lack of interaction with everyone! For some reason today I was on edge and had I gone into any detail would have burst out into a flood of silly stress tears.

2. After each of these lessons I leave feeling excited and fulfilled. I love helping people in this way (and it's not too shabby that I get paid well to do it). I love when she asks me regular "How do I do this in your country" type questions. I absolutely, positively love it.

Why must I get so stressed? Hopefully I'll start to realize that I can teach well and do teach well.

While living in Taiwan in 2003-2004, I first felt the desire to help immigrants in the United States. I understood first hand the daily, moment-to-moment struggles of living in a strange country with very little understanding of the language and only a small amount of people who knew mine that I could rely on. I had to have someone with me in the beginning almost all the time. It was so frustrating, I felt like a child. It was then that I first felt the urge to help the helpless in the US.

Fast forward a few years to the early summer of 2005 in Los Angeles, California. I'm sitting in a workshop put on by my church that helps you discover your unique design and strengths. They were having us do this one exercise... they asked us to describe what we felt the purpose of our life was. As I sat there with a blank mind and a blank face, my frustration level quickly rose as I watched all the people around me writing furiously for minutes. My page was empty. Then the leader, Chip Anderson, chimed in when he noticed a few of us struggling. He encouraged us to center our thoughts around a time when we feel or felt most alive. I prayed a little as I did that and BAM! Rushing in came thoughts of helping people find their way, helping people who don't speak English find the subway station or the library, helping a mother enroll her son in school, and so on and so on.......that's it! Again, I was reminded of my passion for helping immigrants find their way. Now, I'm not sure if this is the purpose of my life, but it is clearly one of the few things that consistently fills my love tank, gives me complete joy and satisfaction, and really makes me feel alive. I'm thrilled to be able to do this again in my life and probably for the next year with Janeth and her daughter Maria Virginia. I'll start with her daughter in October.

So, after a very silly stress-filled day, I must say this:
when you are actively involved in doing something that God has wired you to do, it can wipe away all the problems of the world in just one hour. I feel renewed.

A blast from the past...

A familiar Taiwanese sight...talk about over-simulation...the market...my big green eyes and curly light brown hair never blended in too well here...I was always noticed...

A trip to the mountains...I knew one character out of them all...

My source of freedom and exploration...my love...my scooter!!
This is a rice patty near the school where I was an ESL teacher.

Breath Taking and Breath Giving

All rest and all play. This was my day off today.

Slept in, coffee, lunch with a friend in Detroit, explored downtown by foot accompanied by my own soundtrack via ipod, rested on the shores of the Detroit River on Belle Isle, ended the day with a small group study on fasting and a pancake supper at home (thank God for vegetarian sausage links)...

my little spot under an aspen tree (thanks Dendrology 101)

there is a river...

scroll fast for animation

Oh Snap!

I just stumbled across an interesting t-shirt website. I will not disclose the name of the site because some of their t-shirt are no-nos on my list...

Here's some of my favorites.





Just for fun.

Delicious Detroit

This really should be called part 3 of the Lost and Found blog entry series...but the title I've got is more tasty and accurate based on my experiences this lovely September, almost fall evening.

Today we shot the final bit for the DVD we've been creating. This portion will be the introduction to all the stories that have been previously recorded. I'm learning how the nifty folks at Genesis have all kinds of occupations (firemen, doctors, private investigators, teachers, lawyers, journalists, nurses, and the list goes on), we are so blessed to have someone who works sort of for/with the city of Detroit and therefore has access to some pretty cool places. We thought the intro would be best shot with the skyline of our beloved Detroit in the background....even better on a rooftop of a high rise.

Done.

So we all met right downtown and was granted privileged access to a very abandoned building just blocks from the Ren Cen (for non-Michigan readers- the Renaissance Center is the world headquarters for General Motors). Our trusty Detroit connector Mike lead us to a boarded up entrance covered in a few pad locks, handed out hard hats, flashlights, and made us sign waivers (so when we get trapped under the wreckage of the building, we don't sue his organization). We then felt the good burn in our thighs as we trekked up 15 or so flights of stairs to the roof. Floor by floor went by- each one a total mess- windows broken, piles of who knows what everywhere, graffiti, things dangling from what use to be a ceiling, even the stairs we climbed at times were barely there due to the general falling-apart-ness of the building. It was awesome to say the least. As I huffed and puffed up the stairs, I was simply and wonderfully delighted to be in this abandoned building.

The shoot went well, although we were forced to film parts of it in the stair well because of some sudden bats of rain. I snapped some pics of this 2 hour adventure in delicious Detroit. Delight with me...

Lost and Found Part Deux

Continuing on from that last post...Beau and I went to shoot our third story of lost sheep on Saturday. The sheep took us to Henry Ford Hospital in the top Urology OR in the world. Beau and I nearly had to scrub in to be in this room- we changed into scrubs and really sexy caps for our heads. This sheep also named Dan, is a Urologist and part of the Genesis community. His story was especially moving as he explained the life he came from, the pain of losing a child yet the peace of walking with God during that time, and God's blessing of being successful in a highly competitive area of medicine. We shot the interview from the OR, with Dan sitting on the operating table with his feet dangling off, surrounded by million dollar robots and other top of the line machines.


A midst the seriousness of his story there were many funny moments as he rattled off some of his best urology jokes that somehow are not inappropriate because he is a doctor (or that's how we rationalized it) and as Beau and I fiddled with things in the OR. For example, Dan's boss- the chief of whatever- has an extremely fancy massage chair that he lounges in during surgeries. Beau and I both received a fantastic massage while Dan answered a page...it was like real hands...

Post-massage smiles with ventilator in the background...

Here is Dan pretending to work for some extra shots:

If you attend Genesis, look for these stories in the coming weeks or on a YouTube near you...

Lost and Found Part Uno

Last week I had the most fun at work. We're making a DVD to give out to our community as an invitation tool for the new series we just started called "Go Fish". Yesterday Steve spoke on how God is passionately and lovingly searching for each one of us- how he scans the sea for us, the drowning, lost sheep. The DVD will include stories from different sheep in our community and how God sought them each out. So on my adventures helping shoot these stories this past week, I was given the opportunity to be at a few really exciting filming locations.

The first story we shot was simply in a couple's backyard in Royal Oak. This wasn't an exciting location, but it was natural and real. I sat on a little stool next to the camera asking them questions, helping them through their thoughts. They sat on a picnic table as they retraced their steps in life- meeting in high school, falling for each other because of an equal love for music, especially Metallica, Tesla, and the like. Their story eventually landed them at Genesis because of a flyer sent to them in the mail 7 years ago now- the same one I received from a friend who had kept it three years after receiving it in her mailbox. I loved hearing their story. I loved hearing how they both pursued God because of his initial pursuit of them. I loved seeing how the husband looked deep into his wife's eyes as he listened to her and they unraveled their life on film for us.

A few days later Beau and I headed down to interview a Detroit Fire Fighter who also is part of the Genesis community. He works at the firehouse that holds Engine 9, a bit east of downtown, close to Belle Isle. Just as we had Dan all prepped and ready to go, mic on, the perfect shot all positioned on the front corner of one of the engines, the bell went off in the firehouse! Engine 9 was being called to an apartment building nearby. Beau scrambled to get out of the way with the camera and tripod, but continued to record. Dan calmly, but quickly removed his mic, hopped in the engine and off they went! Complete with lights flashing and sirens roaring. It was SO very exciting- I couldn't help but cheer from the sidelines as they peeled out. My heart was pounding and I was filled with awe and pride and a feeling of safety. I learned that day how those men in that truck care a great deal about what they do. They are strong, confident, and caring. I got such a great feeling from it all!

Here's some more shots from our afternoon...(sorry they're a bit fuzzy was working with my camera phone)

Cinnamon Tears

Tonight I sat out in the grass reading a book. I got to chat with my neighbor Monica in a conversation with real substance for the first time. I'm so stinking shy that it takes me forever to initiate. She was passing by to do her laundry. I knew it was time to initiate. So I did. Ari was enjoying some outside time tip-toeing around the courtyard, or shire as I like to call it, and greeted Monica with surprising friendliness. It turns out Monica is a social worker in southwest Detroit. She seems to be about my age as well. Nice to finally connect with you Monica. Sorry it took me so long.

8:00pm finally came- my deadline for getting geared up for my midweek training run. The sun was promised to set at 8 according to my expert sources at weather.com. It was finally cool outside.

Watch, ipod, key, stretch, go. A residential course I created. 4 miles. I felt like I was going faster than normal for most of the run. That often happens when I run in dimmer light- or dark as it was. 42 minutes later, I'm back at home. Water, stretch, water, shower...I'm hungry for dessert. 5 minutes until the ice cream store closes. A few minutes later I'm there and on my way back home with a gigantic sugar cone toppling over with the most creamy cinnamon ice cream ever to be created on earth. The perfect post-run treat. I decided to finish it on the couch- pop on the tele and oh no. A PBS documentary on 9/11/01. Ugh. I caught it just as they were giving a history of the World Trade Center and how much man power it took to build them. Minutes later my ice cream is gone and I've got one hand holding my heart and one covering my mouth as big old tears rush down my face. Those unbelievable images of those planes. The people inside. The people watching from below. The city. So sad. TV off.

Pray for all the people who lost someone...this has got to be the worst time of year for them.

Scanning History

This Labor Day weekend was a busy one this year. Last year I made my last visit to Michigan from California. I can't believe that was a year ago! Time has flown by since then.

I had a great weekend filled with some fun times down in Detroit at the Grand Prix and Jazz Festival. Without realizing it until later I saw or to be more accurate heard (lots of tents blocking the stage) Herbie Hancock, then on another night got to hear and see the Spanish Harlem Orchestra. They were great. It was neat to see people dancing in the streets- many of them were obviously trained in salsa or whatever it was that they were doing.

On Saturday I went out to Kensington Metro Park with my friend Krista to do a long run in preparation for the Detroit 1/2 Marathon (October 21st!). It was a gorgeous day, but I didn't expect so many rolling hills. The hills almost defeated me, but I ended up running the full distance without a break. You don't realize how unhelpful it is to have every quarter mile marked on a path until you have to run 6 miles. You're reminded how little distance you've gone all too often. Not my best run of the training so far...

My actual Labor Day was spent watching my brother and nephew Fritz at a city park as they ran through all the water sprayers they have- it's this new area of a regular park that has all kinds of play equipment and fountains that spray out water in a variety of ways. It's free too. I watched with my sister-in-law Stacey for a while on the side in a nice shady spot, I was in a sluggish state for some reason. I skipped out early to crash for an afternoon nap. The rest of the day was nice. I spent the evening scanning photos for my photo wall that I've been planning since last spring. I've delayed for a multitude of reasons, but now I'm moving forward on it. Here's a few previews of what to expect in my humble abode very soon...

This is the Geib-Block family in the 80s...I'm guessing 1983 since Emily looks not quite 1 year old. Hello knee socks! Heidi's snackin' on her Cracker Jacks...

I love this picture- this is my Grandma on my mom's side- Katherine. This is her confirmation photo. I'm guessing around the late 1920s?

Oh, one last thing- Happy 1 Month Birthday to my neice Molly!